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Thursday, March 31, 2011

do you remember back in january, when i told you all that i was going to read the bible, cover to cover, in a short 90 days?!? so, show of hands...who thought i'd finish on time? i got seriously behind 3 different times but each time managed, with some heavenly and earthly help, to catch back up and even got ahead several times. this has been such a testament of what i can accomplish when i put my faith and trust in the Lord. His word is a precious and holy gift and before i completed the b90days it was one that i had only half opened (well really i had only pulled out like one piece of tissue from the bag as i had never attempted to read cover to cover before in any time frame!) what kind of crazy person only opens part of a gift and leaves the rest sitting on the table?!? serioulsy, if you haven't opened the whole gift, i pray you will. it was a wonderful journey and the gift was so much more marvelous than i even anticipated.

if you will allow me, i'd like to share the email i sent to a dear friend who emailed me about half way through to see what i thought of the program. i hope it will help you realize this is truly an attainable goal!

last fall/winter i was really struggling with my day to day stuff...just didn't feel like i was doing "anything worthwhile" when it came to the word. i had been praying but was kind of feeling..."ruttish", if you will. well i was blog hopping and came across lifeingraceblog.com...it was late at night and jay was out of town so i was digging around on her blog looking at all kinds of fun decorating/recipes/etc...and ended up coming across the b90days program there. it felt like a huge answer to my prayer. for a moment i thought i was crazy! i mean it is an hour to an hour plus every day and 12 pages...i mean i like to read but this is no john grisham novel; i knew it would be a challenge but i felt like i could do it with His help. i got on amazon and ordered the b90days bible (just an niv without the study footnotes and i have a study bible which i would have found totally distracting and it would have taken me hours per day to finish the 12 pages; it was $13 and i figured probably worth the investment; it has been).some days have flown by and i ended up a day or two ahead because i just couldn't put it down and then other days i felt like i was beating my head against the wall. i feel awful saying that about something that is in a whole so wonderful (and a blessing and gift from my heavenly father but i am being honest here and he already knows!) but some of it you just get so bogged down in words and kings and repitition of things you read the day before that it can be a struggle. i have often found myself seriously doubting what i will really gain from reading at such a quick pace but He never ceases to amaze me! my reading comprehension has always been poor and i may not be able to tell you diddly about what i read on monday but when i am in church on sunday or bible study on thursday mornings and something i have already read is mentioned that before i would have had no clue about, i am right there with them! that alone has been crazy amazing!

i really think i would find it harder to stick with if i was doing it spread out over a longer period of time...i think i would drown in the study part. i imagine i would get discouraged and give up when i got to something hard because i would be trying to figure it all out. but this is more of a plug along...read...remember you don't have to understand every word kind of thing. i had not even scratched the surface when it came to having read cover to cover and this is just such an attainable goal that i just feel like really sets me up for future study. it not only sets me up by giving me the back ground knowledge but has fueled my desire to read/learn more.

when it came right down to it, i figured if the guy who started this was an agnostic before he started reading and became a believer over the course of his reading in 90 days then i surely would get something out of it regardless of how fast i was reading. i won't be a bible scholar or anything come april 3 but He has constantly reminded me that time in His word is never wasted; it has been such a blessing.

i could go on but i have been working on sewing for h's birthday and i am a couple of days behind (i am on day 50 something and this is only the 3rd time i have been behind and they have all been "planned" for lack of a better word...He has totally provided the time for reading; whether it be getting up early, reading at nap time, not falling asleep before bed while trying to read etc.) so i am off to read but call me or email me with any questions! i would recommend it to anyone who is even remotely interested! hugs and blessingssal

if you have any questions, please email me; i would LOVE to help in any way i can! i read along with amy at mom's toolbox and they are starting up a new group in july...i encourage you to join if you are interested!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

i have the cutest picture of hadley one afternoon with some crazy nap time hair and when i got audrey up this particular day her hair just sent me back to that picture of h so i ran to grab the camera...as you can see, she was none too happy about me leaving the room to retrieve said camera...i mean look at those tears. you would have thought there was some great injustice in her life to warrant a face so pitiful.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

when we were in atlanta a few weeks ago, my sweet sister in law pointed out i had been neglecting the blog. i won't go on and on about why but i am going to catch y'all up on any pictures of note over the next few days. i am headed to the beach in the morning with some girl friends and should come back more refreshed than i have been in a long time (no offense to my wonderful husband and terribly precious girls...but you just get run down from time to time and i am in need of some sunshine and responsibility free couple of days!) hope all have a good weekend and enjoy some pictures in my absence!

did i ever mention the whole family (aunts, uncles, grandparents and good ol mom and dad) went in and got hadley a bouncer/jumper for her birthday?!? let me tell you it was worth every penny and i am thinking come summer i won't be regretting the built in roof either (we have not one shade tree in the whole stinking yard!). audrey spends most of her time going up and down the slide and little time jumping and hadley could play in it all day/every day if you would let her. fortunately, for all involved, it fits in the garage!!! great for inclement weather or cold weather but won't help us a bit this summer when the garage is like a sauna...we'll be better off in the yard! this is pretty much hadley's permanent face when the bouncer is inflated.... i mean it might be the best present ever!

and this is how my sweet audrey spent breakfast the other morning. hadley found a stash of birthday party hats before audrey got up and when i went to get audrey, hadley brought her one to wear. i put it on her but didn't think it would last long at all...much to my surprise i took it off her when it was time to leave for school...she never tried to take it off. hadley on the other hand was happier to let her good friend elmo wear her hat.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

or at least it was this morning! i have had several calls and wanted to let all know we are just fine. we were a bit too close, for my liking, to where some major damage occured this morning though... i had a "funny" post on my mind from last friday when it was super windy here and i dropped my wallet as the wind whipped around a building and i lost my balance. that story was funny because my wallet doesn't zip; it snaps! so upon dropping to the ground, it snapped open and the contents blew all over the parking lot and i had not balanced the check book in a couple of weeks so i had MANY receipts and i am sure it was hysterical watching my mom and i chase them all over. i had been laughing about it ever since and pondering "the unseen dangers of wind" but today's weather was anything but funny.

this is what is left of the bp station at the intersection of theodore dawes and old pascagoula in the theodore area near mobile. this is less than 10 minutes from my door...scary how quickly things can change. just a reminder when the weather man suggests you stay home...it might not be a bad idea.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

what do you do when your husband is travelling the week of your child's birthday and will be in the same towns as your immediate family?!? you and the girls tag along so the birthday celebration can last all week!

monday jay and i loaded up the girls and headed to atlanta; driving through some NASTY weather to get there; and stayed with jay's sister, husband and precious little one campbell for two nights. casey and i took the girls to the aquarium but that is another story all together and we all went to the park and dinner on tuesday for some good family time. then on wednesday morning we left for birmingham and had dinner with all the granparents, one great grand parent, my brother, sister in law and nephew carter at jim n nicks! hadley had a great time and it was wonderful to see everyone and spend some time together. i have some pictures but that camera is a little misplaced at the moment so you can check out a few here... then on thursday midday we headed back to mobile...y'all tired yet!?! we were originally going to stay until friday but jay had a meeting come up and was not able to take the day off...that trip made much more sense when there was another day tacked on the end!

this brings us to "the party". do you all remember a time, not so long ago, that true ice cream was forbidden for the children in this house?!? thank the good Lord hadley outgrew her allergy last summer... a sweet friend of mine mentioned having a party at old dutch and it was just too perfect this year given the travel and most importantly that the child can actually have real ice cream! don't you love a real ice cream parlor?!?

the birthday girl with her best "game face", tutu and candles in her ice cream. i made the tutu for one of her presents but she did not want to take it off! who am i to deny her that simple joy in life...

hadley and two of her best buds...mary carlton and heaven

audrey and hadley (audrey won't look at the camera because there is a windmill in the corner she is dying to get her hands on!)

Monday, March 7, 2011

i can't believe you are three years old already! your daddy and i love you so very much and look forward to continuing to watch you grow into a wonderful little lady. you have been such a blessing to us and i hope we can make as much of a positive impact on your life as you have made on ours. thank you for making me laugh each and every day, giving me extra reasons to smile and dare i say, teaching me lessons about life all along the way...you are truly a precious gift from God.